Chip maker will hold board meeting Tuesday to give title of co-CEO or board chairman to Chey


Hynix Semiconductor on Monday held a stakeholders’ meeting at its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and named SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won an inside director of the company.

Hynix also named Ha Sung-min, president of SK Telecom, and its vice president Park Sung-wook as the other two inside directors.

“We got the green light from the majority ― 41.92 percent approval and 15.89 percent disapproval,” said Hynix chief executive Kwon Oh-chul.

It also approved the appointment of five outside directors. All directors will have a three-year term.

As a final step in SK Telecom’s Hynix takeover, the chip maker will organize a board meeting on Tuesday to vote on either seating SK’s Chey as the joint chief executive of Hynix, along with its CEO Kwon, or the head of its board committee.

Some stakeholders, however, protested positioning Chey as Hynix’s inside director, arguing it was not appropriate to make that appointment when Chey is still under prosecutors’ investigation.

On a related front, two commissioners who are authorized to exercise the votes of Hynix’s major stakeholder National Pension Service stepped down from their positions following the nomination of Chey.

This came as the NPS decided to remain neutral on the decision reached during the shareholders’ meeting.

“I stepped down because I believe the decision to maintain neutrality for the NPS is inappropriate,” said Kim Woo-chan, a professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management. “This is a measure drafted to offer convenience to the country’s chaebol. It’s meaningless to participate in the committee any longer.”

In the meantime, Hynix’s chief Kwon told its stakeholders that picking Chey as its director did not go against the law and that a quick decision had to be reached since large investments need to be injected in the rapidly changing semiconductor industry.

“It’s very important for Hynix to have Chey, who has plenty of experience and a global network, to take part in our business operations,” said Kwon.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)